Big Brother Mouse

One of the best things (if not THE best thing) I did while I was in Laos was spend some time volunteering at an organization called Big Brother Mouse.

Before I left for vacation I briefly read something about this organization, and when I was walking around on my first day I happened to walk by, recognize the name, and pick up some more information. I quickly learned this is an amazing organization and I was eager to come back.

Big Brother Mouse is an organization that aims to increase literacy and the availability of books in Laos.  When I was growing up I, like many other American children, had tons and tons of books.  Reading was entwined with my childhood in many ways, and it's hard for me to imagine that for so many children in Laos books are nonexistent.  Although education is improving in Laos, books are still scarce and many children simply do not have access to books, which hinders literacy and education as a whole.

Big Brother Mouse has been working to remedy this problem by printing books written in the Lao language and with stories that are culturally relevant to Lao children.  The organization sponsors book parties in rural Lao schools to introduce children to books and then leaves books at schools so children can spend time reading.  There are also two locations in Laos--one in Luang Prabang and one in Vientiane where people can come in and read books.  While I was at the Luang Prabang location I saw many people come in and sit down to read some books.  

The story of Big Brother Mouse is really amazing, and I encourage you all to read more about it HERE. 

Although publishing and distributing books is the primary purpose of BBM, they also hold English conversation sessions each day from 9-11:00 and from 5-7:00.  During these sessions local Lao people come in to practice their English with native speakers.  

Each time I went to BBM I had a different experience.  The morning sessions were typically full of younger novice monks from nearby temples.  Of course, nearby is all relative because two boys told me they walk an hour each way to BBM--this was on a morning where I was the only volunteer to go to the session.  Needless to say, I was happy I got myself out of bed that morning because they said sometimes they walk all that way and there are no volunteers there--kind of disappointing for a city that is filled with tourists. 

The evening sessions tended to have more college or working adults, but there were sometimes monks present at these sessions as well.  

Talking to the people at BBM was a great way to learn more about Laos.  Many of the people I spoke to came from large families--having seven or more siblings was completely normal.  Most of the novice monks I talked to were young boys in their early-mid teens.  They mostly came from the countryside and joined the monastery because it provides them with a better education. In the monastery the boys can spend the majority of their days studying a variety of subjects--English included.  For these boys, this lifestyle is the best option for them, but of course I couldn't help think--what about the girls?  I think I only saw one or two girls attending these sessions the whole time I was there, which was obviously an indication that educational opportunities for girls are even more limited than they are for boys.  

These boys I talked to were really spirited and had lots of questions about Korea and students in Korea.  They live far away from home and don't see their families often, but they are determined to study hard because they know how difficult it can be to have a stable future. Of course, they're still teenage boys, and one of my favorite days was when they were telling me they love to study biology because usually as monks they can't look at girls, but in biology class they learn everything.  

The college-aged and adult people I talked to were usually working non-stop.  The college students had classes in the morning then went to one job, then another, often skipping meals, only to be asleep by midnight or 1:00 AM and wake up and repeat the same thing all over again.  It was really inspiring to talk to people who worked non-stop and so hard, yet still had constant smiles on their faces.  It caused some serious reflection on my part to think about how I work eight hour days, yet still find plenty of ways to complain about it.  It's amazing how easy it can be to forget how fortunate we are to have leisure time to enjoy with our friends and family. For many people in the world leisure time just doesn't exist if they want to survive. 

Other topics I talked about with people in BBM included marriage (where I was told many people get married in their teens), religion (one boy was talking to me about animism in his village), bear hunting, and eating animal blood (apparently one animal that I can't recall has really delicious blood). I also learned that there are many different ethnic tribes in Laos, which all speak different languages.  Lao is the common language that everyone in the country speaks to communicate with each other, but not the first language for many people in Laos.  

Overall, I was amazed at how well the people I conversed with could speak English. Korea pours so much money into English education, but these people who don't have nearly the same amount of resources are able to speak English so well.  I'm sure this is due to the pure enthusiasm they have--especially since in a country that depends so much on tourism like Laos, learning English is essential for any of the better paying jobs.

One of my friends joked "You're on vacation from your job teaching English and you're teaching English?" True, this seems crazy, but it was really refreshing to be around people who really wanted to learn and gave me a lot of insight into true Lao culture--something you can't easily do when you're in a major tourist spot like Luang Prabang.

For anyone feeling compelled to do some good, I highly encourage you to donate to this cause to help improve literacy in Laos. You can check out how to donate HERE--even a small amount helps this mission!